Dangerous Love Edited Version
by Sabre Black
Summary: Harry Potter and Cho Chang fall in love, blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc... (With a song or two mixed in here or there.) R/R!
1. Don't Cry

A/N: Yeppy. I'm editing it. Hope you guys like it better than you did the last version.  
  
Disclaimer: I own everything! All of it's mine! :: Hears a beep and checks her watch. Yells out to her friends :: Come on, everybody! Time to go ice skating in hell!  
  
Title: Dangerous Love  
Author: S@bre Bl@ck  
Rated: PG  
Genre: Romance/Suspense  
Summary: Cho Chang and Harry Potter fall in love, blah, blah, blah, etc., etc., etc… (a song or two mixed in here or there…)  
  
Extra Note: Song lyrics are in ~~ The song is "Don't Cry" by Seal.   
~_Chapter One: Don't Cry_~  
  
Cho Chang returned to her home in Little Whinging after her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her parents saw that something had changed her greatly- her eyes, once so bright and sparkling were dull and brimmed with tears; her shoulders were slumped, and she was dragging her feet. They wanted to ask what had happened, but felt that if she hadn't already told them, she wouldn't anyways, so they waited.  
  
She often retreated to her room, hardly eating or sleeping. She laid back on her bed, rubbing at the deep dark circles under her eyes, ignoring her stomach's rumbling, and stared up at the ceiling. _Why…_ she thought to herself, _Why did it have to be him?_  
  
"Oh, Cedric..." she whispered, "I miss you so much."  
  
A single crystal tear slid down her cheek, she briefly wondered if that was the only tear left that she had to cry, her eyes did feel rather dry from all the crying she had done in the past few days. She shook her head, it was unimportant.  
  
_Where's a good person to talk to when I need them, someone who understands, who knows what happened. Possibly someone who could answer a few of my questions..._ Then it came to her. She shot bolt upright, wondering how she hadn't thought of him before. _Harry._  
  
She opened her door quietly, aware that it was nighttime and her parents were more than likely asleep. She crept down the stairs and found the phonebook in the drawer. _Oh, gosh, what the heck am I doing?_ she thought. _He's probably asleep, too. Duh. Well... I'll call him in the morning, might as well find his number while I'm down here. Now what was his relatives' name... Oh, yeah! It was Dursley. Yes, I remember some of the girls talking about the Dursleys and if they fed him enough. He is rather skinny... What was I doing again? Oh, yeah, the number..._  
  
She scanned the pages of the phonebook, _Dursley, Dursley..._ She hummed softly to herself while searching. "Aha... there you are." She wrote down the number, put the phonebook up then went back to her room and laid down on her bed again, her tired body slipping into unconsciousness for a few hours.  
  
  
  
Vernon Dursley grunted at the annoying ring of his phone. He heaved himself out of his chair and stomped over and picked up the receiver. "What?!" he growled.  
  
Cho was slightly startled at his rudeness. "I wish to speak with Harry Potter,"she paused, quickly making up a lie to make sure she would get to talk to Harry. Her gut feeling told her this man wouldn't be all too eager to let her talk to him. "I'm -er- one of his teachers at school. He left some of his belongings here. I need to make arrangements with him to see how best to get them to him again."  
  
Vernon growled slightly. "Hang on, I'll get him."  
  
Cho jerked her head away from her phone as the receiver on the other end made a loud noise that sounded like it had been dropped roughly and allowed to bang against the wall. She listened as she heard a shout of "Boy! Get in here!" and rushed footsteps before the phone on the other end was picked up again.  
  
"Hello?" said Harry.  
  
"Harry?" said Cho.  
  
"Yes, this is Harry. Uncle Vernon said I left some things at Hog- at school, but I'm sure I didn't," he said quickly, glancing around and seeing his uncle had left the room already.  
  
"I know, Harry, this is Cho Chang. From what I've heard of your Uncle I -er- kinda lied to get to talk to you. And I'm sorry to bother you but-"  
  
"Not at all, Cho, I'm glad to hear from you. What can I do for you?" said Harry.  
  
"Well, I... I hate to ask you this, but I want to know how Cedric died. You're the only person I know to ask, Harry, since you were there. Was he-... was he really murdered by You-Know-Who?" Cho asked hesitantly.  
  
A dark shadow passed over Harry's face, and he was glad Cho couldn't see it. The memories flooded into his mind, Wormtail holding Voldemort in the bundle of robes, the high-pitched voice saying "_Kill the spare_", Cedric dead, the burst of pain in his scar...  
  
"Harry?"  
  
Harry snapped back to the present. "What?"  
  
"Harry, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to, I was only wondering..." said Cho.  
  
"No, that's okay, Cho, I just kind of lost myself for a second there. To answer your question, though, yes he was. When we touched the Triwizard Cup, we found out it had been turned into a Portkey and it took us straight to Voldemort... I'm so sorry, Cho, I wish I could have done something different." Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat, trying to also swallow the feelings of guilt that were seeping through him.  
  
Cho sniffled, a few more tears sliding down her face. Harry wiped his eyes on his sleeve. _She should hate you, Harry old lad, you know it's your fault._ The words echoed in Harry's mind.  
  
"It wasn't your fault, Harry," said Cho softly, correctly interpreting his thoughts.  
  
"But I told him to take the Cup with me, and he didn't have to die, Voldemort only killed him because he was in the way, a _spare_ as he said it. If I had moved a little faster, acted just a little bit quicker-"  
  
"You could have very well gotten yourself killed if you had, and you know what chaos that would cause in the wizarding world," said Cho. "And I may not know you very well, but you're a wonderful person, and if there was any way you could have saved Cedric, I'm sure you would have done it."  
  
~Don't be so hard on yourself... Those tears are for someone else... I hear your voice on the phone... I hear you feel so alone... My baby... Ooh, my baby... Please, my baby... My baby...~~  
  
Harry mumbled something under his breath but then said, "I guess you're right, Cho... Thanks."  
  
"Yeah, sure. Anytime..." Cho sighed, "I miss him so much..."  
  
"He was a great person," said Harry. "And as you said, if there was any way for him to have lived, I would have seen to it. It's okay, Cho, I miss him, too, and even though I may not have known him that well, I know Hogwarts just won't be the same without him."  
  
~Don't cry... You're not alone. Don't cry... tonight, my baby. Don't cry... You'll always be loved. Don't cry... tonight, my baby.~  
  
"Well, Harry, I hear my parents coming, I should probably go. Thanks a lot, talking with you really helped," said Cho.  
  
"You're welcome, you can call anytime. It really helped me, too, to talk about it. I didn't see how much it would help before now," said Harry.  
  
"Say... how would you like to stay at my house for the summer? That is, if my parents and your aunt and uncle don't mind," Cho offered.  
  
"You really mean it?" said Harry.  
  
"Sure, why not?"  
  
"Great. I'll-" Cho gasped as Harry's voice was cut off by the sounds of someone shouting, the sound of someone being hit, and a thud before the phone on the other end was slammed down and the line went dead.  
  
  
  



	2. Cho's House

A/N: Here it is, chapter two of my edited version. Thanks to my lovely reviewers, comments to them and answers to questions will be posted at the bottom of the chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Wish I did. Might publish a novel of my own someday and people will write fanfics for it, but I ain't got my hopes too high.  
  
  
  
~_Chapter Two: To Cho's House_~  
  
"Great. I'll-" Harry froze as he heard his uncle's voice.  
  
"BOY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TAKING SO LONG ON THE PHONE?! WHAT IF SOMEONE'S TRYING TO CALL _ME_?! THE CALLS I GET ACTUALLY MATTER!" roared Uncle Vernon.  
  
"Uncle Vernon, I-" Harry didn't get to finish his sentence as Uncle Vernon's fist connected with his stomach and the air flew from Harry's lungs. Harry fell back to the floor with a thud, and as he scrambled to his feet, reaching out for the phone Uncle Vernon picked it up and slammed it down on the base. _No!_ Harry's mind screamed.  
  
"Time to teach you some respect, boy!" Uncle Vernon dragged Harry by the collar of his shirt to the cupboard under the stairs and threw him inside. Harry gritted his teeth as his shoulder banged hard against the wall.  
  
_Cho... I'm sorry..._ he thought, sighing ever so softly as he heard the lock click.  
  
  
  
_Oh, my gosh... What was that? Oh, Harry, I hope you're alright..._ Something told Cho that no matter how hard she hoped, something had happened. Something bad.  
  
She jerked her door open and slid down the stairs, sliding slightly at the bottom, then turning around and heading to the kitchen to get the phonebook to check for the Dursleys' address. Tongue between her teeth, she scanned the names quickly, _Dursley... 4 Privet Drive. Oh, good, it's not far._  
  
Cho walked into her parents' bedroom and shook her mother lightly. "Mom, I need you to take me to Privet Drive. It's important."  
  
Cho's mother looked at the clock, "Cho, honey, what for? It's rather early to be visiting anyone."  
  
"I know they're awake and everything, please, Mom, it's really important," pleaded Cho.  
  
Her mother nodded and climbed out of bed and Cho waited outside while her mother dressed.  
  
They got into the car and though it only took a few minutes to get to Privet Drive it seemed to take forever to Cho. She hopped out of the car, ran up to the front door, and rang the doorbell several times.  
  
A very large, beefy, purple-faced man opened the door and stared down at her. "Hello, Mr. Dursley, I'm here to see Harry."  
  
"There is no Harry Potter here," said Mr. Dursley curtly.  
  
Cho raised one eyebrow, "Are you sure? I don't recall saying the name 'Potter'..."  
  
Mr. Dursley appeared angry with himself. "The boy isn't here at the moment is what I meant. He... went for a walk."  
  
Cho stuck her hand into her pocket, fingering her wand, forgetting about the no-magic rule. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at Mr. Dursley and she chose her words carefully. "Then... you won't mind me waiting for him here."  
  
Without waiting for the reply, she pushed roughly past Mr. Dursley. "Cho!" her mother reprimanded.  
  
Cho rolled her eyes, sighing. "Sorry, Mr. Dursley..." she muttered. She looked around, moving only her eyes. "Er... where's the bathroom?" she asked, figuring it would be a nice excuse to take a short look around the house. She turned to Mr. Dursley who appeared to be trying his hardest to look intimidating... and wasn't succeeding.  
  
"Down the hall, second door on your right," he said forcefully. She nodded her thanks and walked off as he and her mother entered the living room.  
  
Once out of sight, she stealthily made her way from room to room, looking for any sign of Harry. Nothing.  
  
She sighed, figuring she better return to the living room before Mr. Dursley became suspicious and passed by a door she had thought led to a closet as it was under the stairs; she heard breathing sounds coming from behind the door though and stopped, frowning. _Surely..._ she thought, _surely there's no one in there._  
  
Curiosity got the better of her however and she opened the door. _Oh, my gosh..._ "Harry," she whispered, staring at his thin, sleeping frame. _Have they fed him nothing at all? He's even thinner than he was at Hogwarts!_  
  
Harry moaned ever so slightly, rolling over. "Coming, Aunt Petunia..." he muttered softly, opening his eyes slightly.  
  
Cho would have laughed had they been in a different situation. "Harry, it's me. Cho," she said, laying a hand on his shoulder.  
  
He winced slightly, moving away from her, but then his eyes snapped the rest of the way open. _Did she just say she's Cho?_ He sat up and whirled around. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing here?" he hissed. _Oh, boy... that came out wrong..._  
  
To his relief, she smiled. "Came to see you. You're supposed to come to my house, remember? C'mon, get out of that hole in the wall and go get your stuff."  
  
She walked into the living room as Harry snuck upstairs and into his room. "Something has just come to my attention, we'll be leaving now, Mr. Dursley," said Cho. Her mother stood, looking slightly confused but following nonetheless. "Oh, yes, by the way..." said Cho, opening the door, "Harry's coming with us."  
  
Mr. Dursley looked shocked and outraged as Harry came down the stairs with his trunk and Hedwig's cage with her in it in hand. "'Bye, Uncle Vernon!" Harry called with a grin, following Cho out and closing the door behind him.  
  
They all got into the car and Cho's mother drove them home.  
  
"Bet you sure are happy I came to visit you, eh, Harry?" said Cho, helping him get his trunk out. "I think you would have starved to death in that house, look at you! Skin and bones."  
  
"Nah," said Harry, popping his trunk open. "I have friends who arranged the food for me." He reached in and pulled out a box and opened it, revealing some of Hagrid's rock cakes. "Er... well, I thought that was Mrs. Weasley's box, but hey, food is food." He put the box back into the trunk and Cho caught a glimpse of a letter addressed to Sirius Black.  
  
"Er... Harry... What's with that?" she pointed to the letter.  
  
Harry followed her gaze and smiled nonchalantly at her. "Just a letter to my godfather, who is innocent. I'll tell you the story later."  
  
They carried the trunk inside and Cho led him up to her room, which was decorated rather nicely, with a relaxed atmosphere. She had deep blue and purple quilts on two beds that were built into the wall, a large picture of a waterfall with a fairy in front of it hung up, with a slight perfumed smell inside that smelled like lavender.  
  
"Like it?" said Cho, watching Harry look around.  
  
"It's great," said Harry. One posted in particular caught his eye. It was a picture of three white lightning bolts striking down from a purple sky into dark mountains, with a lake in front of the mountains, reflecting the picture of the lightning.  
  
Cho followed his gaze and smiled. "Beautiful, isn't it? One of my favorite forms of nature... captured nearly perfectly inside a picture... And what's really special to me about it is how even though it's lightning, which is anything but calm, it calms me to look at it. I feel like I'm there, really witnessing such a magnificent show of beauty..." She kind of lost herself for a moment while talking and snapped back to reality. "Sorry 'bout that, hope I didn't bore you too much..."  
  
"Not at all," said Harry. "I know exactly what you mean, it's like you were reading my mind."  
  
"Well, how about we take on an element that doesn't agree with lightning too well?" she grinned, walking over to the window and pushing aside the curtains. Harry walked over to her and looked down at a huge L shaped pool that was crystal clear. "Care for a swim?"  
  
"I don't swim very well..." said Harry hesitantly.  
  
"Yeah, right, I think if you could rescue two people from the lake at Hogwarts you can do just fine in my pool. It's only ten and a half feet at the deepest end," said Cho.  
  
_**Only** ten and a half feet..._ thought Harry, inwardly rolling his eyes. "Well, alright, let's go- oh, wait, I don't have any swimming trunks."  
  
"Not a problem," said Cho, opening a drawer and pulling out some dark green shorts and tossing them to Harry. "Wear those. And I'll go change into my swimsuit, I'll meet you downstairs." She grabbed one of her swimsuits and retreated into the bathroom.  
  
Harry quickly changed into his swimming trunks as Hedwig flew in through the window holding a letter. He stroked her once or twice and took the letter, noticing it was from Sirius. _I hate to keep Cho waiting, but this could be important..._ Harry thought, opening it up.  
  
_Dear Harry,  
  
How are you? I hope the Muggles are treating you well. You are welcome to come and stay with Moony and I if you want to. Go away, Moony! Aw, look what you made me write! Moony's trying to give me a collar! Moony, stop it! No, I'm writing! Not anymore, Padfoot, it's my turn. Hello, Harry, I hope you are having a nice summer. Padfoot, stop that! No, don't touch that! Oh, you are going to pay for that one. Moony, go away, it's my turn to write. Hey, Harry, it's Padfoot again, now that I have beaten Moony off with a stick I'm free to write.  
  
So as I was saying, we can come get you if you want to spend the summer with us. Or if you want me to curse those blasted relatives of yours. Write back soon.  
  
Padfoot- go away, Moony! I'm not going to put your name on it, it's **my** letter! No, not my broomstick! Okay, okay- Padfoot **and** Moony- there, you happy, Moony? Good, now give me my broomstick so I can hit you over the head with it._  
  
Harry laughed, shaking his head and set the letter aside and headed downstairs. Cho was waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs for him and led him to the backdoor. She pointed to a cabinet, "Towels are in there when you come back in," she said, opening the door and walking out. Harry took off his glasses, laid them on the countertop then followed her.  
  
Tossing a pair of goggles into the shallow end, Cho walked straight to the diving board then dove in. "Ah, the water's great! C'mon, Harry, don't make me shove you in," she taunted as Harry walked over to the edge of the pool and jumped in. Cho swam around him and picked up her goggles of the bottom, shook the water out of them then put them on and dove down into the deep end.  
  
Harry grinned and splashed her just as she came up.  
  
"Harry!" she yelped, then laughed and splashed him back.  
  
Grabbing a large U-shaped raft, she climbed inside, with some difficulty as it kept tipping over whenever she tried, then paddled with her hands over to Harry and pulled him in with her. They sat facing each other and Cho grinned, taking Harry's hands and she leaned back, and when she came up, Harry followed her example and leaned back, and pretty soon they had a good see-saw motion going, the raft creating large waves in the water.  
  
Cho laughed as Harry went the wrong way one time and they bumped heads. Rubbing her head lightly she fixed him under a stern gaze. Harry started to apologize then she laughed again and shoved him back, and as luck would have it a wave caught the raft on one end just as she did, sending Harry flying off into the water, which made Cho laugh all the harder.  
  
A good while later, they headed inside and dried off. Cho headed into the bathroom to change back into her clothes while Harry changed in her room again. After slipping his shirt on, he took a piece of parchment and a quill, dipped the quill in one of his ink bottles and started writing a reply to Sirius' letter.  
  
_Dear Sirius,  
  
I'm doing alright. I'm not at the Muggles' house anymore, Cho Chang invited me to stay at her house for the summer. Do you think she and I both could come spend time with you? You wouldn't have to be in dog form around her either, I've told her you're innocent.  
  
Hope to hear from you soon,  
  
Harry._  
  
He handed the letter to Hedwig, who promptly clamped it securely in her beak then flew out the window.  
  
  
  
Sirius's voice rang throughout the Lupin Mansion. "MOONY!!"  
  
Remus entered the room, holding one hand to his head. "Padfoot, I've told you a million times to not be so bloody loud. What is it?"  
  
Sirius pointed to the letter in his hands. "Harry's reply, thought you might want to see."  
  
Remus took the letter and read over it. Seeing nothing in particular about anything Harry said he turned to Sirius with a confused look on his face. "What's to see?"  
  
"Harry's got himself a _girlfriend_!" Sirius exclaimed, pointing to the name Cho Chang.  
  
Remus chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Well, girlfriend or not, do you think we should let her come here?"  
  
Sirius nodded excitedly. "I want to meet her!"  
  
Remus smiled, practically able to see the thoughts in Sirius's mind. "Well, let's go get them then."  
  
Sirius grinned and snatched a small object from a nearby table then the two disappeared with a pop.  
  
  
  
Harry had just finished telling Cho the story about his third year when Cho's mother called up to them. "Cho! Harry! There are two men here to see you!"  
  
They walked downstairs and Harry's eyes lit up as he saw the visitors. "Sirius! Professor Lupin!"  
  
"Hey, kiddo," said Sirius with a grin. "I see you're doing well."  
  
Remus nodded in agreement then added, "And, Harry, please don't call me Professor Lupin seeing as how I'm not a professor anymore. Just Remus or Moony would be fine."  
  
Harry nodded, "So is it okay if Cho comes with me to your house, Moony?"  
  
Remus nodded again. "Certainly. That is... if Cho's mother doesn't mind," he said, turning to Cho's mother, who gave him a smile.  
  
"If Cho wants to go, she can." She turned to her daughter, "Go get your stuff, sweetie."  
  
Cho hugged her mom in thanks then ran upstairs and collected all she would need over the summer, and her Hogwarts stuff. Harry walked up the stairs and helped her carry it all down.  
  
As Cho set her trunk down with a heavy thud, Sirius pulled a small object from his pocket and held it out to Harry and Cho. "Since you can't Apparate yet and this fireplace isn't tied into the Floo Network, we'll have to use this."  
  
Cho grabbed one of the handles of her trunk then reached out a touched the Portkey and Harry reached out as well, but hesitated, remembering what had happened the last time he had touched one. Remus laid a hand on his shoulder and Sirius gave him a sympathetic look. "It's okay, Harry," said Sirius softly, "it's safe."  
  
Harry nodded. "I know. Sorry, I just..." Harry shook his head and Sirius nodded.  
  
"I understand, Harry, it's okay," said Sirius.  
  
Harry reached out again and softly touched the portkey, then Remus touched it and the four disappeared in a whirl of color.  
  
  
  
~~~***~~~  
  
A/N: There you go. Kind of a merge between chapters two and three of the original version. Now for my thanks to my reviewers.  
  
Bon: Yeppy. Hope you like the edited version.  
  
Slytherin-ferret: Heheh, I thought it was a nice ending, too. ^_^ Lol, I LOVE cliffies, I'll have more in later chapters. Ooh, I'm so evil... :: cackles ::  
  
KiLLeR KiTtY: Favorite fic ever? :: Blushes deep scarlet :: Thanks...  
  
Auiderva: Here you are. Now you know what happened. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
  
:: Gives all reviewers a cookie :: Thank you all so much! I couldn't write without you guys.  
  
  
  



	3. Lupin Mansion

A/N: I finally updated. I'm sorry it took so long. Sorry, sorry, sorry. But I've updated so no one be angry at me anymore!  
  
Angry Mob: You need to update faster next time!  
  
Me: HEY! I said you can't be angry anymore! Shove off!  
  
Angry Mob: Darnit... :: everyone drops their flaming torch and walks away ::  
  
Me: Oh yeah... I rule... ^.^  
  
  
Disclaimer: Hmm... let me think... does anybody REALLY think I own all HP stuff?  
  
Some moron from the Angry Mob: I do!  
  
Me: I told you to shove off! :: Smacks the moron :: *Ahem* On with the fic now. ^_^  
  
  
  
~_Chapter Three: Lupin Mansion_~  
  
Harry landed with a thud in the middle of a moderately decorated room with deep, plush, dark green carpeting and wooden, picture-frame paneled walls. He looked around the room, eyeing several magical trinkets, a mix of some he had and hadn't seen before. He saw Remus watching him with a smile on his face.  
  
"Welcome to the Lupin Mansion, Harry."  
  
"Wow..." said Cho in wonderment, also taking a nice long look around the room, resisting the urge to ask what some of the trinkets did.  
  
"C'mon," said Sirius, placing his hands on Harry's and Cho's shoulders, "I'll show you to your rooms."  
  
Chuckling as they tried to heave their stuff up the stairs, Sirius pointed his wand, one Remus had lended him, at the trunks and they began to float. He led them up three flights of stairs with the floating trunks banging into the banisters the entire way. As they came up on the landing, he pointed down a hallway. "Harry, you're going to be in the room last down the hallway there; Cho, you'll be in the room second on the right. Across from there is the bathroom. Once you guys get your trunks into your rooms-" at this point, Sirius lowered the trunks to the floor- "feel free to wander around and see everything. I have to go see Moony about something, I'll come and get you two at dinner time."  
  
Sirius turned on his heel and propped himself on the banister and slid down the stairs. Half-way down he fell off. "Ow!" he said briefly, rubbing his knee that he had landed on, then he grinned and propped himself on the banister again.  
  
Cho laughed. "I wasn't always sure if I should have believed you about what you told me about him, but after meeting him, I can see why you don't believe he's a murderer." Shaking her head and still chuckling, she grabbed her trunk and headed down the hall.  
  
"Here," said Harry, stooping down and grabbing one end of her trunk for her to make the going easier. She thanked him once they had gotten it inside her room then he went and got his own and Hedwig's cage and took it to his room.  
  
He deposited his trunk at the foot of his bed and set Hedwig's cage down on top of it and looked around his large room that had not only a large width, but a high ceiling. There was a four poster there similar to the one he always slept in while at Hogwarts, a fair-sized desk, a wardrobe, a bedside table, and three windows that shared the same style curtains as the hangings on his bed, owl-patterned. He noticed a stack of candies on the desk and walked over to pick one out, spotting a note that said, "Don't eat them all at once, and if you can, save some for me. -Sirius." Harry laughed and picked out a Chocolate Frog, beginning to nibble on it just as Cho entered with a small box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (Harry guessed she had just eaten a particular nasty flavor as she had a rather pinched look to her face and she confirmed the last bean she had picked to be grass-flavored.)  
  
"I was wondering if you'd like to go looking around the house with me," said Cho.  
  
"Sure," said Harry, swallowing the last of his Chocolate Frog and sticking the card into his pocket without looking at it.  
  
They walked out and started exploring, soon enough they found the gameroom on the second floor and thoughts of looking around the rest of the house flew from their minds as they started playing many of their old favorite games, while discovering some they'd never played before.  
  
  
Sirius strolled leisurely along the hallway on the third floor, stopping beside what looked like a wall. He glanced over his shoulder to see if Harry or Cho were anywhere near, then, after seeing the coast was clear, he quickly pushed the wall to one side and walked into the secret room it concealed.  
  
"Hey, Moony," he said quietly, "How's it going in here?"  
  
"Quite well. I just wish I could have finished it before Harry arrived, you know, like we planned, but since we went and got him right after we got his letter... I didn't have time. I had completely forgotten about it. But anyways, since we can't quite ask Harry his opinion yet, you'll have to do- do you think he'll like it?" said Remus, sounding rather apprehensive.  
  
Sirius looked around the room a little bit, seeing small parts unfinished but knowing Remus would have it done and ready by the time they needed. Turning back to his old friend, he smiled, "I think he'll love it, Moony old pal, you did great."  
  
"Thanks," Remus smiled back. "Well then, I think it's nearly time for dinner, and I could use a break anyways, so you go fetch Harry and Cho while I fix something."  
  
"But they could be anywhere and this place is huge, why can't I cook for once?" whined Sirius.  
  
"'Cause you _did_ cook once and you nearly sent this HUGE place up in flames!" exclaimed Remus. "Now stop complaining and go find them."  
  
"That was an accident and you know it. How was I supposed to know water doesn't put out a grease fire?" Remus fixed Sirius with a look. "Alright, alright, I'm going, you old fuddy duddy..." Sirius walked out.  
  
  
"Ha! Checkmate!" said Cho triumphantly, smiling and trying hard not to turn it into a smirk as Harry's King tossed his crown to her Queen.  
  
Harry groaned. "I don't know if I'll ever win a game of chess."  
  
"Hmm... I dunno, I heard you played pretty good trying to get the Sorcerer's Stone back in your first year."  
  
"That was Ron's doing..." said Harry.  
  
Cho rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say, Harry. Do you want to play again?"  
  
"Sure," said Harry, grabbing the chess pieces and putting them back into place.  
  
Just as everything was set again, Sirius walked in. "Ah, I thought I might find you two here. C'mon, dinner time."  
  
Harry and Cho, both stomachs growling, quickly stood and followed him out.  
  
All three of them entered the kitchen sniffing the air.  
  
"It smells delicious in here!" said Cho and Harry at the same time as Remus set two plates laden with food before them, then he served Sirius and himself.  
  
Sirius took a bite and, deciding to irritate Remus a bit, he grinned and said, "Smells delicious... just goes to show you smells can be deceiving."  
  
Remus smacked him upside the head. "Coming from the man who once lived off rats. I don't think anything could taste much worse than that."  
  
"Hmm... actually, the rats tasted surprisingly good..." said Sirius, the other three cringed.  
  
  
After dinner, Sirius suggested a game of Quidditch and Cho and Harry were quick to agree, and they both ran off to get their brooms. Remus shrugged and also went out and joined them in the game.  
  
"Okay, let's play two on two," said Sirius. "Moony and I against Harry and Cho. Sound good?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, how about this then: one Chaser and one Keeper to a team, and first to fifty points wins. Alright, I'll be Chaser, so Moony here better prove himself a good Keeper... What about you, Harry? Which position will you take?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. I guess I can be a Chaser if Cho doesn't mind being Keeper."  
  
Cho shook her head. "I don't mind at all. Let's fly then." Everyone mounted and took to the air.  
  
Sirius took the Quaffle in his hands and tossed it high into the air. Harry shot up after it, his Firebolt far outstripping the Comet Sirius was on, and he took possession of the Quaffle and shot towards Remus.  
  
He threw the Quaffle hard and it shot straight through the goal. "10-0 to me and Cho!" shouted Harry.  
  
"Lucky shot!" shouted Sirius, taking the Quaffle and zooming towards Cho.  
  
Cho tightened her grip on her broom, staring Sirius down. When he threw the Quaffle, she was ready, she caught it easily, then tossed it to Harry.  
  
She spotted a Bludger heading towards him as he sped towards Remus and she shouted, "Harry, look out!" Too late. He turned just in time to take it in the ribs instead of the head, and luckily he didn't feel any of them snap, but he dropped the Quaffle and Sirius, who had been flying underneath him, caught it. But instead of heading towards Cho he flew up to Harry.  
  
"Hey, kiddo, you alright?" he asked, his face tight with concern. Harry nodded. Sirius considered him a moment, then flew off towards Cho, knowing no real damage had been done.  
  
Cho once again pulled off a fantastic save and threw the Quaffle back to Harry, and he scored again. "20-0 to me and Cho!" Harry called out.  
  
Sirius scored once then twice, making the score a tie, but then Harry pulled ahead again, pulling some surprising moves seeing as how he normally practiced Seeker instead of Chaser, and the game ended with the score 50-20.  
  
They all landed and Cho hugged Harry briefly. "Great job, Harry!"  
  
Harry smiled, hugging back. "You did great too, Cho."  
  
"Yeah, we sure did show those old geysers what we're made of!"  
  
Harry laughed and the two of them walked back inside. Meanwhile, Sirius was hitting Remus over the head with his broomstick and shouting, "YOU CALL YOURSELF A KEEPER?!"  
  
Harry shook his head at the doorway, listening to the two shouting at each other, trying to hide a smile.  
  
  
~~~***~~~  
  
KiLLeR KiTtY: Thanks, Cookie Fan. You're the greatest. I would have given up on this fic a long time ago without you.  
  
sdasdsdasdasdasd: Thanks.  
  
Cc/HP rulz: Erm... he already did.  
  
Malfoy+Moody=ferret: First of all, I LOVE the name. Hehehe... ferrets SUCK! Lol. Anywho, thanks a lot for the extreme compliments.  
  
Aubyn Lin: Twice? o.O I haven't finished it. I got pissed when my mom told me Sirius died, so I'm not really reading too much out of it. But anyways, thanks!  
  
xXdOmOnXx: Aw, thanks!  
  
:: Gives all reviewers extra huge cookies :: You guys all rock! Thank you all so much! I'm so glad you like my little ficcie. Now please push the pretty little purple button again and tell me if you still like it or not.  
  
Oh, btw, extra cookies to those who can guess what Remus and Sirius were doing in the secret room! (If you read the unedited version, you don't count!!)  
  
Seeya next chapter.  
  
  



	4. The Surprise

A/N: Yay! Chapter four of my beautiful edited version is completed. Hope you like it!   
  
Disclaimer: Nope, nope, nope :: hillbilly accent :: Don't own nuffin', I don'.   
~_Chapter Four: The Surprise_~  
  
They stayed up a bit longer and played in the gameroom until Remus announced that it was time to go to bed. Sirius and Remus accompanied Harry and Cho up to their rooms and everyone traded their goodnights.   
  
Harry smiled to himself as he listened to Cho's soft breathing in the other room next to his. _She must already be asleep, _ he thought to himself, and then started to drift off himself.  
"Remus!" Sirius whispered urgently as Remus closed the door to Cho's bedroom. "Remus, come here!"  
  
"Sirius, get away from there, how would Harry react if he woke up and saw you watching him sleep?"  
  
"I can't help it, Moony," said Sirius, pulling the innocent looking face that he knew did not work on his friend. "He looks so peaceful and cute when he's asleep, come on, look at him, you can't tell me he doesn't look cute." Sirius gestured towards Harry with a wave of his hand.   
  
Remus shook his head and peeked into Harry's bedroom then smiled. "You're right, Padfoot. But still, we need to get some sleep ourselves, c'mon."  
  
Sirius nodded and reluctantly shut the door then he and Remus walked to their own bedrooms. Sirius paused in front of his door then turned to his friend, "Moony?"  
  
Remus turned, his hand on the knob, "Yes?"  
  
"Thanks... for letting me stay here. And for letting Harry come, it means a lot to me to be able to see him without having to meet secretly."  
  
Remus smiled softly, "Anytime, old friend."  
  
Sirius smiled back and they both went into their rooms.   
  
(A/N: Even though I said it in the original and most of you have probably read it, I have to say it again for those of you who hadn't. I _know_ at least one of you is thinking slash; stop that! I firmly believe the Marauders were not homosexuals.)  
  
  
Harry, though at first peaceful, became troubled in his sleep and he woke up early in the morning, biting his lip and sweating. _Curse those bloody nightmares! _ he thought furiously.   
  
Sighing, he laid back against the pillows, inwardly scolding himself for his stupidity in talking Cedric into taking the Triwizard Cup with him, but then he remembered all that Cho had said to him that day on the phone, and he calmed down considerably and eventually fell back to sleep.   
  
What seemed like, to Harry, about five minutes after his second bout of unconsciousness, he was roughly awoken.   
  
"Harry... Harry, wake up. C'mon, kiddo, breakfast is ready downstairs and we're all waiting for you," said Sirius's voice from what seemed to be a long distance away though Harry could feel him shaking his shoulders.   
  
"Eat without me..." he muttered sleepily, removing himself from Sirius's grasp and falling back onto the bed.   
  
"Harry! Blast, you're harder to get out of bed than James was, and I thought we were trying to wake the dead then..." Sirius muttered, shaking his head and walking out. "MOONY!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, hanging over the stairwell.   
  
When Remus didn't appear within the next half a second, Sirius called out again, "MOONY!"  
  
"SIRIUS, WILL YOU KEEP IT DOWN! I'M COMING!" came the reply and Sirius heard rapid footsteps coming up the stairs and soon his friend came into view.   
  
"Alright, alright, I'm here, what is it?" said Remus.  
  
"Harry," said Sirius shortly. "Hold him down, will you?"  
  
Remus grinned and they both walked into Harry's bedroom. Remus took hold of Harry's wrists and Sirius started tickling his sides. The room was soon filled with the sound of Harry's laughter.  
  
"Sirius!" he gasped. "Stop, stop, stop, I'm awake already!"  
  
Sirius grinned and stopped, standing up straight again and Remus let go of Harry's wrists. "Morning, sleepyhead," greeted Sirius. "Now hurry up, get dressed and come down for breakfast."  
  
Harry nodded and as the two laughing adults left the room, he got up and got dressed.  
  
He half-walked, half-stumbled down the stairs then went into the kitchen, where the shout of "SURPRISE!" from thirteen people greeted him.  
  
"Happy Birthday, Harry!" chorused the nine Weasleys, Hermione, Cho, Sirius, and Remus.  
  
Harry stared at them, then saw a large stack of presents accompanied by the largest cake he'd ever seen in his life. Mr. Weasley took a picture of him and claimed that he would not develop it so that it would move, just so he could always keep that expression on Harry's face. Mrs. Weasley took several more pictures, but assured Harry that he would be moving in them.  
  
"C'mon, cake and presents, cake and presents!" said Sirius impatiently.  
  
"Cake for breakfast?" said Harry incredulously. Sirius nodded, and since not even Remus or Mrs. Weasley seemed to mind, he shrugged and joined them at the table. Sirius cut him out a large piece and placed it on the plate in front of him, then served himself a slightly smaller piece that was eaten in approximately 1.000001 seconds.  
  
When everyone had finished eating, Harry started on his presents. The first one was from Hermione. It was a book (surprise, surprise) entitled _The Quidditch Teams of Hogwarts_. Harry flipped through the pages, pausing as he saw one of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team quite a few years ago... and there was his father in it, along with Sirius, both holding broomsticks high in the air with silly grins on their faces. He looked up at Hermione and smiled wide. "Thank you, Hermione."  
  
"You're welcome, Harry," replied Hermione, smiling back.  
  
Picking out another present, he read the card and saw it was from Cho. He shredded the paper and found an attachment for his Firebolt that made the tail end even sleeker and it increased the speed by ten or so miles per hour. "Wicked! Thanks, Cho!"  
  
Cho winked at him, "Just be sure to leave it off when you're playing against me. A Firebolt is formidable enough, maybe you should reserve it for games against Slytherin."  
  
She grinned and Harry laughed. "Maybe... we'll see, Cho," he replied, winking back then picking out another present.  
  
It was from Ron. A personalized set of Quidditch balls. "Wicked..." Harry whispered. He thanked Ron then picked out yet another present.  
  
When all the presents were gone, he noticed he hadn't gotten one from Remus. He looked up at him, frowning with confusion but Remus just smiled. "Follow me, Harry."  
  
Remus walked off and Harry followed him curiously. Stopping beside what looked like a wall, Remus pushed it open and ushered Harry inside. Harry walked in and gasped. Lining the walls were pictures of him and his friends, and of his parents and their friends while they were at Hogwarts.  
  
Walking around the room he looked at all of the pictures, all of the faces of younger Sirius, Remus, and Peter, and his parents smiling down and waving at him. And he smiled as he reached the few of him and his friends and saw his picture self waving at him.  
  
He turned around and saw Remus waiting his opinion. "I love it. It's wonderful."  
  
Remus's face broke into a smile, "Thought you might like it..." he muttered modestly.  
  
"C'mon, let's go rejoin the others downstairs," he said, and he and Harry walked out.  
  
  
Downstairs, Sirius was causing as much noise as possible, setting off Filibuster's Firecrackers that whizzed and whirled around the room and popping in and out of dog form, barking loudly whenever he turned into Padfoot and running into Percy's legs. Dogs really _can_ sense evil. (A/N: Sorry, Percy-lovers, I couldn't resist.)  
  
Harry laughed as Percy fell down for the umpteenth time, and he was glad, for the second time in his life, that it was his birthday.  
  
  
Harry, Ron, Cho, Fred, George, Sirius, Remus, and Charlie decided to play some Quidditch. One Seeker, one Chaser, one Beater, and one Keeper to a team. Harry was Seeker for his team, which consisted of him, Ron, Cho, and Fred (Ron-Chaser, Cho-Keeper, and Fred-Beater); Charlie was Seeker for his team, with Sirius as the Keeper (he learned not to let Remus be Keeper), Remus as Chaser, and George as Beater. And so the game began.  
  
Bringing out his Quidditch set from Ron, Harry laid it on the ground, mounted his broom, and then kicked it open. Eight brooms shot into the air and Harry and Charlie both flew higher than the others, in search for the Snitch.  
  
Ron grabbed the Quaffle and shot towards Sirius. A Bludger came his way but just as he started to duck, Fred came and batted it away and Ron's path was clear except for Sirius. He threw the Quaffle hard but Sirius caught it and threw it to Remus.  
  
The same Bludger that had almost hit Ron came Remus's way, and since George was on the other side, batting away the other Bludger from Cho, he had to dodge it, and in his lapse of concentration, Ron stole the Quaffle from him and this time, he got past Sirius and scored.  
  
Remus took the Quaffle and headed towards Cho, who held her broom steady, a determined look on her face. He threw the Quaffle and she dove for it, but it slipped through her grasp and the score became tied.  
  
Just as Ron took the Quaffle again, something blurred shot past him, going straight down.  
  
The wind whistled sharply in Harry's ears as he shot straight down with Charlie on his tail. At the very last moment, he pulled out of the dive and Charlie came to a screeching halt, nearly falling off his broom.  
  
_Whoa... the Wronski Feint..._ thought Charlie. _That's amazing._  
  
While Charlie was regaining his balance, Harry spotted the Snitch around the goalposts Sirius was guarding and he sped off, whirling around and grasping the Snitch firmly in his hand.  
  
Cho, Ron, and Fred all cheered loudly and flew over to thump Harry on the back.  
  
"Wicked awesome, mate!" yelled Fred.  
  
"Well done!" shouted Ron.  
  
"That was amazing!" exclaimed Cho, leaning over and kissing Harry on the cheek; Harry blushed scarlet.  
  
They all landed and slung their brooms over their shoulders, except for Remus, who first used his to whack Sirius over the head with (not the he blamed Sirius for their loss that time, but it was fun and he wanted revenge.)  
  
"Ow!" said Sirius, unshouldering his broom and slapping Remus back with it. Pretty soon it was one big broom-smacking contest between them as the other six watched amusedly.  
  
  
After everyone else had gone home, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Cho stayed up late talking to each other. Around 2 AM, Sirius came in and told them all to go to bed so they all swapped goodnights then Ron and Hermione went to two of the guestrooms while Harry and Cho went to theirs.  
  
Harry fell asleep quickly and for the first time in a long time, he did not have a nightmare about Voldemort or Cedric.  
~~~***~~~  
  
Aubyn Lin: Only two... for now. ;) Thanks for your review.  
  
Bon: That's okay, as long as you like it and keep reading, it's cool. ^.^  
  
:: Gives a cookie to each reviewer :: Thank you guys both so much. Hope you liked this chapter! Press the purty button! 


	5. Discontinued

I know FF.Net said no more chapters for A/Ns but I believe this could be an exception because there aren't going to be any more chapters to this story – I just wanted to tell everyone this is discontinued. If anyone cares to change my mind, go right ahead, but I can't get into writing this as much as I used to. I've been working on my own novel, and it feels much more creative writing it than a fanfic, especially after book five has kinda messed up my whole Harry Potter fanness. That book was a let down, dangit. But I won't rant about that. I've said what I need to say. 'Bye all, and thanks for enjoying my story while it lasted.

~Sabre Black.


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